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I know Malzahn has ties to the state of Arkansas since he coached high school ball at Springdale(I think that was it?), but it still seems like a major step down. Malzahn should have taken the job at Vanderbilt while he was still a hot commodity, but it sure seems like he could have gotten a better job anyways..

(1) He turned down head coaching jobs with Vanderbilt and Maryland last year. He was offered $3 million a year at Vanderbilt.....

(2) He is making $500,000 a year less at Arkansas State as the head coach than he was at Auburn as a coordinator.

(3) Hell.... Ole Miss is probably pissed because they hired Hugh Freeze from Arkansas State and Arkansas State replaces him with a better coach. I'm sure Ole Miss fans are asking why they hell they couldn't have hired Gus Malzahn?

(4) There are better jobs open right now that you would be hard pressed making me believe that he couldn't land.... Southern Miss right off the top of my head.

A little surprising even though he has obvious connections to the state.

I'm guessing that he hopes to steal a few recruits from the Springdale/Fayetteville area where he used to coach high school ball and prove himself a little bit as a Head Coach at a smaller program before jumping to a big time program.

I know Malzahn has ties to the state of Arkansas since he coached high school ball at Springdale(I think that was it?), but it still seems like a major step down. Malzahn should have taken the job at Vanderbilt while he was still a hot commodity, but it sure seems like he could have gotten a better job anyways..

So does Nebraska! We also have Southern Miss and UCLA, and still have an open date. I hope we get someone with a pulse for that last game!

Off-topic, but I wish Oregon would schedule a home-and-home with Nebraska. Everyone I have talked with has said that going to a Nebraska game is an awesome experience and that the fans are truly world-class(very classy bunch of fans), and I'd love to host Nebraska in Autzen.

Back on-topic: Maybe Malzahn decided that he needed to get his feet wet at a place with less expectations? Obviously he should be kicking himself for turning down seemingly better options, and it is funny that Ole Miss just hired Arkansas State's coach when Malzahn would appear to be a higher profile hire...

He probably realized he can't coach, and that Cam Newton was his the only reason he was a big ticket last year. That or he got pissed off at Chizik. I wouldn't be surprised on either front. I doubt he lasts 5 years at Arkansas State.

Why would any coach want the Vanderbilt job? Nobody can win there! When you can make that kind of money and do it near family and friends, why not? An extra half million isn't going to replace that.

And this season was the first time in Arkansas State school history that they had more than 6 wins in a season.... They went 10-2 this year and the in past the best they were ever able to do was 6-6.

What happens if Gus Malzahn takes over at Arkansas State and has a couple 7-5 or 8-4 seasons? Sure that is better than what they ever done in the past. BUT it wasn't 10-2 like they done under a virtually unproven coach in Hugh Freeze who made 1/4 ($200,000 lowest in FBS) of what Malzahn is getting paid.

Hugh Freeze came in with barely any coaching experience on the college level and took Arkansas State to the best season in school history his first year. Will fans be appreciative if the team takes a step back under Malzahn? The Sun Belt is usually a pretty terrible football conference but this year they were even worse with the bottom 5 teams only having a combined 15 wins. Oh and by the way Arkansas State plays both Nebraska and Oregon out of conference next year.

I guess maybe he just wanted to coach in his home state that much.... He is making $2.2 million a year less at Arkansas State than what he was offered at Vanderbilt.

This is an amazing deal for Arkansas State. They get a coach that most would say is out of their league and he has a buyout clause in his contract. If the leaves for another school within 5 years then Arkansas State gets paid depending on when he leaves. I read that if he leaves after the first season the buyout is $5 million, $4 million after the second season and $2 million a season for the rest of the contract. Which pretty much makes it likely that he is gonna be there at least a couple seasons.

And this season was the first time in Arkansas State school history that they had more than 6 wins in a season.... They went 10-2 this year and the in past the best they were ever able to do was 6-6.

What happens if Gus Malzahn takes over at Arkansas State and has a couple 7-5 or 8-4 seasons? Sure that is better than what they ever done in the past. BUT it wasn't 10-2 like they done under a virtually unproven coach in Hugh Freeze who made 1/4 ($200,000 lowest in FBS) of what Malzahn is getting paid.

Hugh Freeze came in with barely any coaching experience on the college level and took Arkansas State to the best season in school history his first year. Will fans be appreciative if the team takes a step back under Malzahn? The Sun Belt is usually a pretty terrible football conference but this year they were even worse with the bottom 5 teams only having a combined 15 wins. Oh and by the way Arkansas State plays both Nebraska and Oregon out of conference next year.

I guess maybe he just wanted to coach in his home state that much.... He is making $2.2 million a year less at Arkansas State than what he was offered at Vanderbilt.

This is an amazing deal for Arkansas State. They get a coach that most would say is out of their league and he has a buyout clause in his contract. If the leaves for another school within 5 years then Arkansas State gets paid depending on when he leaves. I read that if he leaves after the first season the buyout is $5 million, $4 million after the second season and $2 million a season for the rest of the contract. Which pretty much makes it likely that he is gonna be there at least a couple seasons.

I commend him for looking at considerations other than just money. Would you rather be filthy rich and miserable or wealthy and happy?

I commend him for looking at considerations other than just money. Would you rather be filthy rich and miserable or wealthy and happy?

I understand that have been there and done that myself on a smaller level. I quit a pretty good job where I was miserable and took another job making nearly half the money. But I was much happier and still able to live my life.

Arkansas State wasn't even gonna call Gus Malzahn because they felt he would be unlikely to even consider the job. If it wasn't for a close friend involved in the search process Gus Malzahn never would have even been considered an option for Arkansas State.

If I were in his shoes I would have looked at the situation this way.... You are a top coaching candidate in a season where there are numerous job openings. Unless he just goes somewhere and completely destroys the program then that job opportunity at Arkansas State isn't going anywhere.... He could have coached for a couple seasons somewhere like Vanderbilt or Ole Miss and if he didn't like it then move down to somewhere like Arkansas State.